Happy Tails Books was inspired by a Boston Terrier named Bill. Bill was rescued from a Missouri puppy mill and has had a long road to recovery. These days he is enjoying life as a dog and always has something silly going on. This blog chronicles his recovery and comedy as well as life as a dog foster parent.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

It seems like so many of the stories in the "Lost Souls: Found!" series of books start out with "I was having dinner when I received the call..." or, "It was late one night when the call came in..." Well, now I've got my own evening rescue adventure to talk about.

It was just about dinner time when the call from my rescue group came: had I connected with the woman who rescued Olivia? No, I hadn't - but it was not for lack of trying. The woman I was supposed to talk with was involved with turtle rescue (I didn't even know that existed!). She went to rescue a turtle from a woman who had chronic migraines and lived in the dark. When she arrived at the house, she found that there was also a Boston Terrier living there who appeared to be somewhat uncared for and WIRED. The dog was jumped around excitedly at the site of her - trembling, barking, licking/biting, and spinning in circles - what was going on with this dog?

The rescuer was able to get a twofer that day - take one turtle and get a dog that allegedly eats couches for free. But now what? Enter MidAmerica Boston Terrier Rescue. Our coordinator, Jami, requested I contact the woman, which I did, but I never heard back. Finally, Jami talked to her and I came to find out that the woman was avoiding me because she didn't like to drive. What? She was less than an hour away and I had offered to meet her halfway. Come on!

I've been called many things in my life, often unflattering adjectives having to do with my East Coast heritage. On this day I'm sure the woman was calling me abrasive (or worse) behind my back, because I called her up and promptly said, "Hi, this is Kyla from MidAmerica Boston Terrier Rescue. I hear you didn't call me back because you don't like to drive? Well, here I am. I'll meet you halfway in a half an hour." Done and done.

I've also been called Supergirl, as was my character in the circus I recently performed in with my mom, Carol, who is now known as "Old Lady Wonderwoman." We slipped right back into our roles, and Supergirl and Wonderwoman zoomed up to Longmont to pick up our new dog-in-need... Uh... Knowing nothing, really, about the dog-in-need we were picking up. (So much for planning - I hope she doesn't eat my cats!)

We met the woman in a truckstop and quickly made the exchange. Livy and Bill had the usual introduction - Livy sitting on Bill's head followed by Bill trying to eat her. No problem - we do that every time. The rest of the ride home, Wonderwoman reverted from superhero to super-mom, cooing softly to Olivia and comforting her in her new situation.

After a few days I'm finally learning what Livy is all about. First, she's the smartest dogs I've ever fostered (sorry, Bill). Her release paperwork said she didn't know any commands. I told her to sit, she sat. I told her to come, she came. I told her to jump up on the picnic table, she did, and then she got down as soon as I told her to. Uh - either I missed my calling as a dog trainer or the person who had this dog for the last six months didn't really know her at all.

We've only got six months of history on Livy. We know that she lived in a dark house with the chronic migraine lady, and surely didn't get much exercise. She's 2.5 years old. Her previous owners are a mystery but one thing is for sure - Livy was beat by a man. I know this because she spent two days growling at my husband and our roommate, and was fine with my dad until he picked up a stick to throw for Bill, which caused her some kind of psychedelic relapse.

While she's the smartest dog I've met, she's also the most terrifying, as she has shown some pretty scary aggressive behavior towards small dogs. She's not a bad dog, she just hasn't been properly socialized. Coupled with her unbridled "enthusiasm," she's a ticking time bomb that I need to diffuse.

Next time I post I'll talk about the techniques I've been using to help Livy gain confidence and settle down.